In the spring of 2024, Piscataway had two big chain supermarkets: ShopRite at Piscataway Towne Center on Centennial Avenue and Stop & Shop at 581 Stelton Road. In October 2026, neither name is on either building. The Centennial Avenue space reopened this summer as Patel Brothers. The Stelton Road space has changed hands once and is now dark for renovations. So inside township lines, the full-size grocery choices sit almost entirely on one short stretch of Centennial Avenue.
Two buildings, five changes
The changes came one after another over a little more than two years.
| Date | Address | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| May 7, 2024 | 1306 Centennial Ave. | ShopRite closes at 6 p.m. |
| May 8, 2024 | 6781 Hadley Road, South Plainfield | Replacement ShopRite opens at Hadley Commons |
| Oct. 18, 2024 | 581 Stelton Road | Food Bazaar takes over the former Stop & Shop |
| First week of January 2026 | 581 Stelton Road | Food Bazaar closes for renovations |
| June 30, 2026 | 1306 Centennial Ave. | Patel Brothers opens in the former ShopRite |
The ShopRite never went away. It moved. Wakefern, the cooperative behind ShopRite, announced that the Piscataway store would close on a Tuesday evening and its replacement would open the next morning in South Plainfield. The new store is a 93,000-square-foot building in Hadley Commons Plaza, owned and operated by the family-owned Saker ShopRites. The replacement store sits across the town line, and the move left a big empty box at Piscataway Towne Center.
What filled the Centennial Avenue box
That box stayed empty for a little over two years. When it reopened on Tuesday, June 30, 2026, TAPinto Piscataway reported that hundreds of shoppers were waiting at the entrance for the countdown. Patel Brothers' 60th store nationwide had arrived. Township officials spent the vacancy trying to get a grocer back into the space. At the ribbon cutting, Mayor Brian Wahler said so directly:
"I know it's been a big concern of (Council President) Michelle Lombardi and myself in regard to getting a grocery store back here in town."
Lombardi called the store "fresh, new, and beautiful" and said it was "definitely something that we needed here in Piscataway."
Patel Brothers works differently from the ShopRite that came before it. Brothers Mafat and Tulsi Patel founded the company in a Chicago neighborhood in 1974. Second- and third-generation family members now run it, and it has nine locations in New Jersey. TAPinto's opening coverage describes what's inside:
- A large produce department with fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs and cheeses
- Wide aisles of spices, rice, flour and pantry staples, including the company's SWAD private label
- A fresh kitchen and a juice bar
- Handmade pastries and breads, chapati among them
At opening, the store was open daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Those hours run shorter than a typical big supermarket, so check them before a late trip. Store Manager Margi Patel said the company had hired 60 people and was looking for 30 more, with applications going to [email protected].
Why Stelton Road can't take the overflow right now
If 2024 had gone differently, the Stelton Road store would be the natural second stop in town. It's on hold instead.
Stop & Shop put 581 Stelton Road on a list of underperforming stores it planned to close in 2024. The list had four Central Jersey stores: this one, two in Edison and one at 1221 Route 27 in Franklin. TAPinto reported that the closures across several states were scheduled for on or before November 2, 2024.
Unlike the Centennial Avenue space, the Piscataway store didn't sit empty. MyCentralJersey reported in September 2024 that Food Bazaar Supermarket would take over the location and open Oct. 18. Food Bazaar already had New Jersey stores in Carlstadt, Elizabeth, Fairview, North Bergen and Trenton. Suzanne Kuczun, associate vice president of marketing and development for Bogopa Service Corp./Food Bazaar, said the company planned to "remain open during renovations, making improvements while continuing to serve our customers."
The store did open on schedule and ran through 2025. Then plans changed. The Market Report Blog follows supermarkets around the region, and it reported in August 2026 that the Piscataway Food Bazaar closed during the first week of January for renovations. On an Aug. 5 visit, the blog found contractors on site and most of the interior gutted. Food Bazaar's own store locator still lists 581 Stelton Road with the hours shown as "Closed for Renovations." As of early October 2026, the company hasn't announced a reopening date, and none of the local coverage found for this post gives one.
That's why Centennial Avenue carries so much weight this fall. Of the two Piscataway buildings that held a big chain supermarket in early 2024, the Centennial Avenue box is the only one open.
The other side of the street
Patel Brothers didn't open in an empty area. Centennial Square, the Walmart- and Lowe's-anchored center on Centennial Avenue between Stelton Road and South Washington Avenue, already had several places to buy food. Its landlord lists it as fully leased at 408,000 square feet. The tenant list includes these grocery and food stops:
- ALDI
- Asian Food Market, which lists its own Piscataway address as 1339 Centennial Ave.
- Green Acres Health Food
- Walmart
- Restaurants and quick stops including Panatieri's Pizzeria, Shokudo, AA Diner, Olive Garden, Panera Bread and Rita's Italian Ice
That listing is the landlord's directory, not a store-by-store check, so confirm a specific tenant before you plan a trip around it.
This summer also added a dinner option to the strip. Buffalo Wild Wings opened Monday, July 6, 2026, at 1315 Centennial Ave. in Centennial Square, one week after Patel Brothers opened at 1306. TAPinto reported that the operator is Amit Patel's AMPAL Group, which runs eight Buffalo Wild Wings locations. At the River Road end of the avenue, Wawa opened its third Piscataway store, a convenience store with gas pumps at 88 Centennial Ave., on Dec. 4, 2025.
Put together, a single stretch of Centennial Avenue now has a discount grocer, an Asian market, a health food store, an Indian grocery with its own kitchen and bakery, and a big-box store with groceries. In 2024 that stretch had one supermarket.
Working the new map this fall
Here's how the options shake out as of October 2026, based on the most recent reports:
- For produce, spices, pantry staples and fresh-baked breads, Patel Brothers at 1306 Centennial Ave. is open daily, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. as of its opening.
- For a discount stock-up or specialty Asian ingredients, ALDI and Asian Food Market are in Centennial Square, with Asian Food Market at 1339 Centennial Ave.
- For the ShopRite you used to shop at 1306 Centennial, the replacement is at Hadley Commons, 6781 Hadley Road in South Plainfield, open since May 8, 2024.
- For Stelton Road, Food Bazaar at 581 Stelton Road is listed as closed for renovations, with no announced reopening date.
- For a fill-in stop on the way home along River Road, the Wawa at 88 Centennial Ave. has been open since December 2025.
The next change on this map will likely come from 581 Stelton Road. When Food Bazaar posts a reopening date, Piscataway will have a full-size supermarket off Centennial Avenue again.
At JLA Team, we track openings and closings like these because store changes shape how a neighborhood works day to day, and that matters to the people who live there now and to anyone thinking about moving in. If you have questions about Piscataway, or about how changes along Centennial Avenue and Stelton Road fit your own plans, we're happy to talk them through. Schedule a Consultation whenever it suits you.
